BRANDON UNIVERSITY General Faculty Council September 2012 A G E N - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

BRANDON UNIVERSITY General Faculty Council September 2012

A G E N D A 1. Call to Order 2. Approval of Agenda: September 7, 2012 3. Approval of Minutes: September 16, 2011 4. Introduction of New Faculty and Staff 5. New Business: a) Election of Vice-Chair b) Election of Secretary 6. Any Other Items: a) Order of Felis rufus 7. Senior Administration Updates 8. Question Period 9. Adjournment

Order of Felis rufus The Order of Felis rufus is an honour society that recognizes those individuals whose distinguished work helps promote the quality and excellence of Brandon University.

Order of Felis rufus Presentation by Dr. Bruce Strang Dean, Faculty of Arts: David Taylor, Business Administration • Mike Malazdrewicz, Business Administration • Presentation by Dr. Noreen Ek Acting Dean, Faculty of Health Studies: Darlene Paquette, Faculty of Health Studies •

S ENIOR A DMINISTRATION U PDATES a) Preliminary Enrolment Numbers (D. Poff) b) Presentation to the COPSE (D. Poff) c) Healthy Living Centre (S. Lamont) d) Family Housing Proposal (D. Poff) e) Searches (D. Poff & D. Care) f) AUCC Open Doors, Open Knowledge (D. Poff)

U PDATE ON E NROLMENT (D. P OFF ) First-year students headcount registration: as of last night 764 • end of first week of classes last year 678 • Overall headcount: as of today: 2938 • -3.5%

The City of Brandon is committed to supporting Brandon University grow and thrive. Our support of the University goes beyond the enormous economic impact of the University: payrolls, purchasing, student housing. Frankly, if Brandon doesn’t get smarter, it will get poorer. Brandon University plays a central role in building Brandon as a Smart City. Knowledge and creativity will be the centre of success in the new economy. Concentrations of skilled people, rather than raw materials, are the engines of growth. Brandon University’s innovation and intellectual capital is a critical component of economic development in the region. BU graduates are the skilled labour force our community needs if it is going to thrive in the knowledge economy. The City of Brandon also understands the way the University adds to both the quality of life and quality of place in western Manitoba. The University has several transformative projects on the go: the Healthy Living Centre, innovative programming in a range of disciplines including liberal education and professional programs, such as Nursing and Psychiatric Nursing, and a strategic thrust in expanding graduate programs and research opportunities. These initiatives make our city more livable, which, in turn, attracts new businesses, professionals, and young people. For over a century, Brandon University has anchored our community. The growth and success of our city is permanently entwined with the success and growth of Brandon University. Shari Decter Hirst Mayor of Brandon

A S TUDENT -C ENTERED A PPROACH AND A R ESEARCH E NHANCEMENT A PPROACH This fall we begin our 3 rd year in implementing Brandon • University’s 5 year strategic plan – BUILD A key focus of that plan is on various strategies to • increase student success at Brandon University Another focus is on increased graduate studies and • research at BU This is also the 3 rd year in a 3 year budget plan to try to • deal with significant budgetary challenges for Brandon University

S TUDENT -C ENTERED F OCUS After serious reflection on our commitment to the recruitment, retention and success of our students, the University began to shift resources toward a higher level of support for our students as part of its BUILD plan. In the past two years, we have: Created a Director of Student Recruitment and Retention; • Re-focussed our one position that was partially responsible for student recruitment • to a full-time student success officer; Added an additional full-time student-success officer with a focus on First Nations, • Métis and Inuit students; Added an additional full-time learning skills specialist in student services; • Developed and will pilot a student tutor program initially focused on Aboriginal • students; Increased our international recruitment activities and became members of the • University of the Arctic and the National Student Exchange; Developed and are piloting an early warning system in student services, working • with faculty to identify students at risk of failure to receive additional help with their studies.

T HIS B UDGET C YCLE … We intend to restructure the leadership in Student Services and the Office of the Registrar by: reconfiguring the position of Dean of Student Services and the position • of Registrar to create the position of Associate Vice-President (Student Services and Enrolment) and University Registrar; creating a new position of Director, International Activities. • We will also create a one year additional duties project for the Dean of Arts. This will be called Acting Associate Vice- President Research and Dean of Graduate Studies – Special Projects. This assignment will allow the University to: revise its strategic research plan; • be present and at the table of meetings with government and VPs • Research on Canada’s national research agenda; organize and implement a grant writing workshop. •

R ESTRUCTURING L EADERSHIP AND C REATING T WO N EW P OSITIONS W ILL … Bring together our two key support areas for students • and have both units working together for student success. Within our limited resources efficiently redeploy a • position to enhance Brandon University’s goal of becoming a university of choice for international students.

I NTERNATIONALIZATION The Government of Manitoba is committed to increasing • the number of international students who attend university in Manitoba and who stay to become productive knowledge workers in the Manitoba economy. The Federal Government is committed to the • internationalization of university campuses across Canada to educate, recruit and retain international students who will drive research, development and Canada’s future and well-being.

F EDERAL G OVERNMENT ’ S A DVISORY P ANEL ON C ANADA ’ S I NTERNATIONAL E DUCATION S TRATEGY , A UGUST 2012, N OTES : “Our vision for Canada: become the 21st century leader • in international education in order to attract top talent and prepare our citizens for the global marketplace, thereby providing key building blocks for our future prosperity.” If Brandon University is to align with the mandate of the • Provincial and Federal governments’ goal of internationalizing Canada’s universities’ student base, we must have the leadership to do this. The introduction of these positions is a strong step in that direction.

R ESEARCH AND G RADUATE E DUCATION We are also dedicating part-time resources this year to advance BU’s research and graduate education agenda To become more successful with the Federal granting • agencies’ research competitions, BU must have a small but increasing number of graduate offerings. In particular, we need graduate degrees from which to train HQP; To meet the needs of our region, BU must be responsive to • the graduate aspirations of our place-bound citizens; To strategically build our research profile, BU must have an • up-to-date research strategic plan;

Post-baccalaureate degrees are essential for • professional advancement in many careers now; As a regional university with many students attending • from the Westman region, Brandon University has to have the same strategic trajectory as many of the small universities in Canada in order to stay competitive, grow, create new knowledge, and serve its population, including place-bound Manitobans who wish to pursue graduate studies without stopping their employment and uprooting their families.

B RANDON U NIVERSITY ’ S P ARTICULAR C HALLENGES Approximately 90 percent of our budget is dedicated to • staff and faculty despite a very marginal level of staff in a number of areas; Last year we proposed to partner with government to • evaluate our budget and staffing level. We are still interested in this activity; Our unfunded pension liability consumes approximately 8 • to 10 percent of our budget.

T HE F UTURE OF BU Depends to a large extent on the ability of the institution to be both an initiator and responder in the growth of our institution. • Innovation requires resources; • Opportunities require resources; • Responding to the educational and research demands of our community requires resources.

W E A RE B EING C REATIVE B UT E VEN T HE S TATUS Q UO IS A C HALLENGE We balanced the budget this past year by utilizing a • significantly reduced surplus and by leaving key administrative and faculty positions unfilled; We are restructuring in order to provide leadership and • enhance our student success and student recruitment both nationally and internationally; We will still be unable to fill key vacancies again this • year.

B RANDON U NIVERSITY Remains: Committed to excellence in teaching and research; • Committed to serving the province as a teaching and • research university; Committed to meeting the educational and research • needs of our region.